Montauk to Manhattan by Thomas Maier

Author:Thomas Maier
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Post Hill Press
Published: 2024-04-25T17:08:08+00:00

Ever since, my family life had been in shambles. My cousin Elaine, who had predicted Tricia and I would always be together, remained sympathetic to me. But privately, she advised our extended family that I was the one to blame.

Seeing my children inside the courthouse, I realized how long it had been since we’d been together on a Little League field, at a dance recital, or to a concert at their school. I always insisted my life, my career, even my bad habits, were more important than anything my wife or family had to offer. My only saving grace, if any, was that I recognized what a shit I’d been.

When the divorce became final, the judge didn’t require more money because I had been in rehab and was temporarily unemployed. Tricia didn’t worry much because her father always provided a constant flow of cash and gifts to her. A year after our divorce, Big Terry died of a heart attack, leaving Tricia a sizable sum in his estate. Tricia made it clear she didn’t want me to attend her father’s funeral, and soon she married DJ, the silver-haired realtor.

The publication of The Life Line novel—and the impending arrival of Max Kirkland’s television adaptation—prompted Tricia to seek an adjustment in my child support payments. Her court papers pointed out that I was currently working for the nation’s best-known newspaper and that, with our children only a few years away from college, I could well afford to pay more than a mere pittance. When the judge asked for my response, the best answer was the one about fairness and equity prepared by my attorney in advance.

After the hearing ended, Tricia instructed the children to follow her briskly out of the courthouse. Only one of them, John Jr., stole a glance at me. My attorney gave me some follow-up legal instructions, but I barely listened. I was still caught up in my reverie of doubts and recriminations and wondering what life would have been like if I had done things differently.

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